Advertisers may think it's OK to deliberately perpetuate violence against women,
why does the fashion industry continue to use ads like these to sell products? Why is being abused and dismembered, portrayed as edgy and hot? And more importantly, what does this obsession with battered and dead women do to society?
advertisements that objectify and dehumanize women make violence more acceptable and legitimate. "When women are constantly shown as objects, the abuse and the violence makes a chilling kind of sense,"
As it turns out, exposure to violent and degrading images of women affects our attitudes and behaviors towards them in real life. Aggressive behavior is a lot like texting at the dinner table, it's more prominent when it is perceived to be socially accepted. A study conducted in 2010 showed that men who were exposed to sexually degrading depictions of women in video games reported a "greater likelihood to sexually harass women and a greater accessibility of a woman as sex object." In a similar study from 2008, men who had been subjected to sexualized video game female characters also felt less empathy for female victims of sexual harassment and were more likely to blame the victim.
In other words, images like the one below aren't just offensive, they increase the likelihood of dangerous behavior.
http://mic.com/articles/74785/dear-advertisers-there-s-nothing-sexy-about-violence-against-women
why does the fashion industry continue to use ads like these to sell products? Why is being abused and dismembered, portrayed as edgy and hot? And more importantly, what does this obsession with battered and dead women do to society?
advertisements that objectify and dehumanize women make violence more acceptable and legitimate. "When women are constantly shown as objects, the abuse and the violence makes a chilling kind of sense,"
As it turns out, exposure to violent and degrading images of women affects our attitudes and behaviors towards them in real life. Aggressive behavior is a lot like texting at the dinner table, it's more prominent when it is perceived to be socially accepted. A study conducted in 2010 showed that men who were exposed to sexually degrading depictions of women in video games reported a "greater likelihood to sexually harass women and a greater accessibility of a woman as sex object." In a similar study from 2008, men who had been subjected to sexualized video game female characters also felt less empathy for female victims of sexual harassment and were more likely to blame the victim.
In other words, images like the one below aren't just offensive, they increase the likelihood of dangerous behavior.
http://mic.com/articles/74785/dear-advertisers-there-s-nothing-sexy-about-violence-against-women
A recent Calvin Klein ad showing a man creeping up on an unsuspecting woman.
One of the bloody Lindsey Lohan portraits that hung at London's Tyler Shields exhibition in 2010.
An image dating back to 2010 when America's Next Top Model televised a photo shoot where models were instructed to play dead.
SEXISM IN ADVERTISING
Sexism towards women in advertising has always been an issue in the history of American society. Women have always been expected to fill specific gender roles as the cleaning, cooking, or child-bearing sex machine. Today’s society has most certainly evolved to where such discrimination is extremely discouraged and looked down upon. During the 1950s, however, sexism against women was something that was normal and expected by both men and women. Regardless of how insulting or chauvinistic ads were towards women, people were socialized to tolerate and accept the female house-wife stereotype.
Sexism towards women in advertising has always been an issue in the history of American society. Women have always been expected to fill specific gender roles as the cleaning, cooking, or child-bearing sex machine. Today’s society has most certainly evolved to where such discrimination is extremely discouraged and looked down upon. During the 1950s, however, sexism against women was something that was normal and expected by both men and women. Regardless of how insulting or chauvinistic ads were towards women, people were socialized to tolerate and accept the female house-wife stereotype.
Ads in the 1950s most commonly advertised wives being completely controlled and influenced by their husbands, feminine products to help impress their husbands, cleaning products, and endless cooking and references to the benefits of staying in the kitchen. These vintage ads that included phrases such as, “Don’t worry darling, you didn’t burn the beer!,” “Men are better than women!,” and “Christmas morning: she’ll be happier with a Hoover!” not only created a stigma for women in general, but they were shockingly blunt and irrefutably left no room for interpretation.
TRANSFORMATION OF "BEAUTY"
Society’s interpretation of beauty has significantly changed over time and will always continue to change. For example, in the early to mid-twentieth century, women were considered beautiful if they had fair skin and a full, curvy figure. Having tan skin simply meant that you spent too much time outside, which was further associated with the working class (Sebastian, 2008). Having a voluptuous body meant represented a fertile and wholesome woman. As years passed, women gradually became slimmer and darker skinned. In today’s society, beauty is almost the exact opposite as it was in the early twentieth century. Women are socialized to want to have tan skin with a very thin body frame.
Women are not coming up with these beauty and style decisions on their own, however. The media and advertising plays a huge role in influencing what women view as “beautiful”. Flooding women’s brains with the tan, tall, slender bodies of modern models is a tactic the media uses to keep society up with the times. If a certain image is repeated enough through television, printed ads, movies, commercials, billboards, etc., society will accept this image as the norm and copy it (Alice, 2010). In conclusion, as society transforms and changes over time, our image of beauty will subsequently continue to change as well.
Society’s interpretation of beauty has significantly changed over time and will always continue to change. For example, in the early to mid-twentieth century, women were considered beautiful if they had fair skin and a full, curvy figure. Having tan skin simply meant that you spent too much time outside, which was further associated with the working class (Sebastian, 2008). Having a voluptuous body meant represented a fertile and wholesome woman. As years passed, women gradually became slimmer and darker skinned. In today’s society, beauty is almost the exact opposite as it was in the early twentieth century. Women are socialized to want to have tan skin with a very thin body frame.
Women are not coming up with these beauty and style decisions on their own, however. The media and advertising plays a huge role in influencing what women view as “beautiful”. Flooding women’s brains with the tan, tall, slender bodies of modern models is a tactic the media uses to keep society up with the times. If a certain image is repeated enough through television, printed ads, movies, commercials, billboards, etc., society will accept this image as the norm and copy it (Alice, 2010). In conclusion, as society transforms and changes over time, our image of beauty will subsequently continue to change as well.
Women in advertising are 'treated appallingly', says Havas WW president